Lower Diesel Prices; CNN, Other Media Cuts Coming; No Probable Cause For MarALago Raid; France Burns

Hello all you freedom loving people. Today Paramount closed its massive Warner Brothers discovery takeover, President Trump moved to lower diesel prices, newly declassified memos reveal the FBI surveillance of the Trump family ahead of the Mar-a-Lago raid, Cornell University faces growing outrage over its handling of a rape case and what exactly is happening in France where student protests are spiraling into nationwide unrest. Okay let's get into it. Today Paramount Skydance officially completed its 81 billion dollar takeover of Warner Brothers Discovery, which will now go by the shorter name Skydance. The deal, which includes billions of dollars in debt, is valued at around 111 billion dollars. Skydance brings together CBS, HBO, CNN, the two major movie and television studios, and Paramount Plus and HBO Max streaming services. And it all comes under the leadership of billionaire David Ellison, who will serve as the chairman and the chief executive officer alongside his co-CEO Enon Kreese. Kreese is the outgoing CEO of Mattel. He will handle day-to-day management and he will focus on bringing the two businesses together. Meanwhile Ellison will focus on long-term strategy and creative vision. Paramount Skydance also confirmed yesterday that Mark Thompson will stay on as chairman and as chief editor of CNN Worldwide and Barry Weiss will remain editor-in-chief of CBS News. But getting here was not easy. It took nine bids and a showdown with Netflix before Ellison agreed to pay 31 dollars a share in cash, which was up from his first offer of 19 dollars a share. Then 12 states sued to block the merger. They alleged that it would wipe out competition in Hollywood and it would leave consumers with fewer choices. Paramount eventually settled the case though and a federal judge approved that settlement, clearing the last major obstacle to the deal. And as part of that settlement, Ellison is now legally required to keep his promise of releasing at least 30 movies a year. Paramount also agreed to spend at least 1.5 billion dollars more on movie production in the U.S. over the next five years. Right now only about 5 percent of Paramount's production happens in the U.S. Paramount also agreed to set up a 25 million dollar fund over five years to buy independent films and to set aside money for entertainment worker benefits. And while Paramount won't have to sell any cable channels, it must negotiate distribution deals for Paramount and Warner Brothers basic cable channels separately for five years. But if they don't negotiate those deals separately, then they could be required to sell some of those channels. The deal also brings CNN and CBS under the same roof. And critics argue that this could hurt competition in the news business. So to address that, the settlement creates a board to make sure that CNN and CBS keep their editorial departments independent. Meanwhile, Elon Musk's name also came up as Paramount looked for fresh sources of cash ahead of the closing. As we mentioned back in September, Paramount executives discussed asking Elon Musk to join a syndicate of wealthy investors in order to provide equity for the company. At the time, Semaphore reported that Musk was reportedly one of several wealthy individuals that Ellison considered approaching. But the size of any potential investment from Musk was not disclosed. Musk has close ties to Larry Ellison, who is the father of David Ellison. Larry Ellison invested $1 billion in Musk's 2022 takeover of X, and he personally guaranteed more than $40 billion of equity financing for the Paramount Skydance deal. But so far, there has been no public confirmation that Musk ultimately joined the group of investors behind the deal that closed today. So what does the new deal mean for viewers? According to streaming guide Just Watch, Skydance will control about 20% of on-demand subscriptions in the U.S. That will be roughly the same share that Netflix alone holds now. Skydance argues that the merger will benefit viewers because it will allow the company to offer larger content libraries. The merger will also let Skydance compete with much bigger streaming rivals like Netflix, Disney, Amazon, and Apple. But skeptics argue that Skydance may end up having enough power to control prices and to require viewers to pay for more subscriptions in order to watch certain titles. And as for streaming, Ellison plans to eventually combine Paramount Plus and HBO Max into a single service. Then in their first memo to staff today, Ellison and Kreese acknowledged that combining the two companies will bring difficult decisions affecting the workforce. But at a town hall that was held today, they declined to say how many jobs could be cut. Yesterday, President Trump signed a new executive order to lower diesel prices. Diesel prices in the United States have risen sharply this year, primarily due to tight global supply. Ukraine's ongoing attacks on Russian refining facilities, combined with a global shortage of refining capacity, are putting pressure on the diesel market supply. And following the outbreak of hostilities between the United States and Iran, energy supplies in the Middle East have been further disrupted. As a result, diesel prices have skyrocketed. According to AAA data, as of yesterday, the average price of diesel across the United States was approximately $6.32 per gallon, which is about $2.63 higher than the same period last year. President Trump ordered a temporary relaxation of restrictions on the use of red dye diesel on public roads, and he directed the Treasury Department to defer payment of the federal diesel excise tax accrued from October 5th through the end of the year. He signed the order during a rally at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center on the Nebraska State Fairgrounds. President Trump said to the audience, tonight I'm going to sign a historic executive order to officially waive the off-road requirement and allow anyone to purchase tax-free red dye diesel. Different tax systems apply to diesel fuel depending on its use. Diesel fuel used on public roads is subject to federal and state excise taxes. Diesel fuel used for non-road applications such as agriculture, construction equipment, and heating is generally not subject to road fuel taxes. This type of diesel fuel contains a red dye so that law enforcement officers can identify it. Any purchase volume limits that are currently in place to limit red dye diesel sales will not be enforced as per the order. The White House stated that the federal road diesel tax is currently $0.244 per gallon, which amounts to about $60 for 250 gallons. Lower fuel prices will save truckers approximately $100 every time they fill up their tanks, and this will reduce farmers operating costs by millions of dollars collectively, according to President Trump. Newly declassified memos yesterday show former special prosecutor Jack Smith and FBI agents during the Biden administration monitored President Trump's campaign manager's phone, and they tracked First Lady Melania Trump and her son Barron Trump's travel ahead of the 2022 raid on Mar-a-Lago. According to the memos that were released by the White House, FBI agents tracked Suzy Wiles' calls using a pen register device and a trap and trace device. Suzy Wiles was President Trump's then co-campaign manager. The pen register device recorded all outgoing and incoming phone numbers that were dialed from a monitored phone. Agents sent detailed reports about when President Trump's defense lawyers would call Suzy Wiles and the duration of the conversation. They even tracked when one lawyer would attempt to call while Suzy Wiles was on the phone with another person. The agents also reported when Melania Trump called Wiles and the length of the call. In one document, on or before May 31, 2022, Washington field office agents planned to finalize the FBI's understanding of Melania and Barron Trump's travel and which type of aircraft they would use. The agents also planned to finalize coordination among the FBI, DOJ, and Secret Service in the Miami and West Palm Beach jurisdictions before the August 8 raid on Mar-a-Lago. These memos state that the head of the counterintelligence division at the Washington field office had repeatedly attempted to remove relevant documents from Mar-a-Lago without presenting a search warrant. A memo shows on July 13, 2022, one month before the raid, FBI agents reported that they didn't have enough information for a search warrant. Approval for the investigation appeared to come from the top of the DOJ. On a memo dated March 24, 2022, from FBI Director Christopher Wray to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, Monaco signed the memo and attached a note to then Attorney General Merrick Garland that read, Merrick, I recommend you approve. Lisa, the White House calls the findings an abuse of power. The White House said in a statement, Jack Smith's surveillance operation was a disgraceful abuse of government power. Spying on political opponents is weaponization of law enforcement, plain and simple. Those responsible must be held accountable. Hundreds of students, faculty, and community members at Cornell University held a rally yesterday to protest the university's mishandling of a rape case. This rape allegation dates back to 2024, and it has recently drawn nationwide attention once again. On October 19, 2024, a 20-year-old undergraduate student at Cornell University, referred to as Jane Doe in court documents, first attended an event that was hosted by her sorority, and then she went to the Mooney's Bar in downtown Ithaca. She was under 21 at the time, so security marked her hand, but the bartender served her alcohol anyway. Over the course of about three hours, she drank roughly 10 standard drinks. She left the bar alone at 11 p.m. and headed to the Chi Phi fraternity house to meet someone she knew. According to the complaint, over the next few hours, she was pressured into taking ketamine at the frat house. Then, she was offered marijuana and rum. Shortly afterward, several men took turns and raped her in a room upstairs. The most striking piece of evidence in the complaint was a screenshot of a group chat. At 1.42 a.m., one of the men sent a message in the fraternity's Snapchat group using vulgar language to urge other people in the group to come upstairs. The victim said that the whole thing lasted until 5.45 a.m. when she finally lost consciousness. Afterward, she was diagnosed with severe depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and she withdrew from Cornell. But she didn't call the police that day. It wasn't until nearly three weeks later that she walked into the Cornell University Police Station. However, the Ithaca Police Department never received a report about the incident. It wasn't until the recent flurry of media coverage that the city police first heard about this incident. In recent days, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten has maintained that the woman's first account to police didn't include allegations that she was drugged, incapacitated beyond the ability to consent, or forced into sex. However, CBS later obtained the school police report, which stated clearly on November 14, 2024, that she told the school police that she could say with 100% confidence, I was raped. According to the transcript obtained by CBS, she told a campus police officer, yes, it was coercion, yes. She said that she was completely and totally incapacitated before some of the sexual abuse. Van Houten told CBS News that he never saw the transcript of the interview when his office declined to bring charges. And he instead relied on a statement that was written by a campus police officer, but was signed by the accuser. On the day that the report was filed, Cornell suspended all activities of the Chi Phi fraternity, which was subsequently permanently banned from campus. This was followed by a month's long Title IX internal investigation and at least a dozen hearings. Cornell said in a statement that its own investigation had led to some students being disciplined or expelled, and the Chi Phi chapter remains barred from campus. But the university has declined to release more information on the discipline of individual students citing privacy rules. Earlier last week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul called for a new investigation into the university's handling of the matter. She said that she spoke with Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff, and he agreed to bring in outside counsel for an independent investigation. Regarding yesterday's protest rally, Reuters noted that the total number of participants may have exceeded 1,000. They wore purple ribbons and held signs with such messages as support survivors, expel rapists, and justice for every Jane Doe. And demonstrators chanted Kotlikoff resign, among other slogans. After the development this week, Kotlikoff released an apologetic video on Saturday. He said that Jane Doe's account raises heartbreaking and troubling issues about sexual assault, dehumanization, and aspects of party culture, alcohol, and drug use. But students have demanded more accountability and transparency. Additionally, the protesters demanded the expulsion or degree revocation of all students that were found to be involved in the horrific gang raid. And protests by French high school students continue to intensify, entering their third week yesterday. And the Students' Union called for a new round of nationwide protests today. Approximately 400 to 500 high schools nationwide across France have suspended classes entirely or partially due to safety concerns. Students describe the reason that they protest as excessively long school hours, overheated classrooms, frequent staff absences, and crumbling buildings. The French government stated that the protests were initially sparked by students' dissatisfaction with a lack of educational resources, including teacher and other staff shortages, oversized classrooms, run-down school buildings, and the pressure caused by the parcoursip college admission system. The protests began in the suburbs of Paris in late September, and they quickly spread across the country. However, some of the protests escalated into campus lockdowns, arson, and property damage. Students are piling trash bins and other objects across school entrances to prevent their classmates from entering. And they are setting piles of garbage on fire in the streets. They are wrapping their faces with masks and balaclavas. They are violently clashing with police. The government has begun to focus on restoring public order. Government spokesperson Maud Bergeron said in an interview with CNews yesterday, our top priority is to restore order. Last Saturday, Patrice Faur, the Paris police chief, called on protesters to act peacefully in an open letter. He stated that the current violence had gone beyond the original demands of the protests, and he urged parents to dissuade their children from expressing their views through violence and vandalism. But there's no end in sight. The student unions called for a nationwide day of protests today. And several teachers unions also called for a nationwide strike today in support of students accusing police of violence against protesters. The General Federation of Labor, the CGT, has also stated that it will participate in the demonstrations. CGT General Secretary Sophie Bonnet criticized the government's police response to the students' protests yesterday. She described the actions taken over the past 10 days by the police as unprecedented repression. There were also new clashes and acts of vandalism at several high schools in Paris yesterday. A teenager had his hand blown off as high school protesters clashed with riot police in northern France. The regional newspaper said that the 15-year-old lost his hand and part of his lower arm after picking up a police dispersal grenade that detonated in the town of Lens. And three fires broke out yesterday morning at a vocational school in Paris. The principal Carol Zurbub said that the incident happened very suddenly and that the atmosphere at the scene was extremely tense. She noted that the person involved was not a student at the school and she said that the incident made both teachers and students feel threatened. As of today, police say that more than 6,500 people have been arrested in connection with this wave of protests, the majority of whom are minors. The Ministry of Education also reported that approximately 170 students were injured and approximately 600 police officers and gendarmes were injured. Education Minister Edouard Jaffray said that the government would launch a platform for students to express their dissatisfaction and to kick off an action plan for particular schools. The French government has acknowledged that some of the educational issues raised by students are legitimate while at the same time emphasizing that it will not tolerate violent acts such as arson and vandalism. The Macron government and the right-wing national rally led by presidential front-runner Marine Le Pen have accused the hard-left France Unbowed, the LFI, along with lawmakers and mayors, of stoking the protests. But the LFI denies the accusation. The LFI is headed by presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon. In the 2022 French presidential election, Mélenchon won about 22 percent of the vote, narrowly missing the runoff between the top two contenders. Since the current President Emmanuel Macron is barred from a third consecutive term, some polls suggest that the presidential race in the coming April election could become a runoff between Mélenchon and Marine Le Pen. According to the Free Press, in order to advance his political prospects ahead of the election, Mélenchon's strategy appears to be to capitalize on the discontent that is currently roiling the country. The LFI has publicly supported the students' call for educational reform, and its lawmakers have visited protest sites to show their solidarity. Mélenchon criticized the government for taking an overly harsh approach to policing students' protests, while also expressing his opposition to violence. The LFI also supports the new round of nationwide mobilization that was scheduled for today. The problems that France is facing, though, are not limited to the schools. Public debt has reached 119 percent of national output. On Thursday, the government proposed a $61 billion budget squeeze, even as demands for better public services grow. The yield on France's 10-year government bonds briefly approached the key psychological threshold of 5 percent last Friday, reaching its highest level in 24 years. Investors are increasingly anxious as the economy teeters. Mélenchon believes that confrontation is the answer to the country's troubles. The Free Press reported in a 2012 speech where he argued that progressive political action must turn everything it touches into conflict. Mélenchon calls it a citizen's revolution. In his account, people who feel abandoned by the existing parties can be brought together against a common adversary and remake the country's institutions. That's why Mélenchon and his party have actively supported the protests. In Saint-Denis, north of Paris, LFI Mayor Bali Bagayoko told protesters that while it was preferable to keep protests peaceful, violence at some point can be legitimate. Although the LFI rejected the accusation that it is behind the student movement, there is evidence against the far-left party. On Thursday evening, the French newspaper Le Figaro reported that a leaked internal intelligence note from the Paris police attributes the protest movement's origins to far-left organizations and high school student unions. And that's a wrap for this episode. Thank you so much for your support of FrontPage. Please remember to leave a comment below the video or just an American flag emoji. This is really helping us to be seen all around the world. The more people who watch FrontPage, the more freedom-loving people the world will have. And please hit the like button and hit the notification bell after subscribing. 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